6bblbird Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 Most of my builds have a back story and this one is no different. It started about a year ago when I found this '64 Dodge in a collection of "used cars". What caught my attention was that this was obviously a Johan body but it was a sedan? Huh? I'd never seen a '64 Johan sedan so I bought it. When I got it home and took a closer look, it turned out that the builder grafted a '63 sedan roof to the hard top body! Instead of restoring it, I decided to build my own! I took a glue bomb '63 and grafted the roof on to a pristine '64 Polara. First time I had ever done anything like this. WF
6bblbird Posted December 30, 2017 Author Posted December 30, 2017 The sedan that I envision is a post model. The B pillars are easily made with strips of Plastruct. The econo 330 sedan is a two tail light model so i had to convert the Polara panel as well. Still trying to make this look right.
6bblbird Posted December 30, 2017 Author Posted December 30, 2017 Now as to why the name "Hodge Podge Dodge". Although I want this car to keep it's Johan roots and identity, this is going to be a true parts box and spares build with parts from Johan, AMT, Lindberg, and Moebius! Might even find something from Revell to glue on. The chassis had material removed from the outside edges and is now the same width as the original Johan piece. Chassis from Lindberg. Dana 60 and springs from Revell. Slicks are AMT parts pack items. The right rear tire will be straightened out and front suspension will be detailed. Â
W-409 Posted December 30, 2017 Posted December 30, 2017 Wow, that looks great already! I have several of different Mopar kits from this era too all of which will be Super Stock or FX cars so I'm watching this very closely. Nice job grafting the roof on that body.
6bblbird Posted December 31, 2017 Author Posted December 31, 2017 Going to use the Johan interior tub because it fits! Not the most detailed thing but it'll do. Needs a tach. Not sure about a roll bar.
vintagercr Posted December 31, 2017 Posted December 31, 2017 Walter, I can't wait to see it finished.
6bblbird Posted December 31, 2017 Author Posted December 31, 2017 4 hours ago, vintagercr said: Walter, I can't wait to see it finished. We may have to wait a while. I just X-Acto knifed one of my fingers! Arrrgh! Â
6bblbird Posted December 31, 2017 Author Posted December 31, 2017 I really want to use this type of header: Here is another problem. They are for a Hemi but I want to use a wedge. They also will not fit with the Lindberg chassis. Another problem with the Lindberg chassis is that I can't get the firewall to meet the cowl ( 1/4 " gap ). The engine also sits way too low in relation to the hood. I started to modify a Johan pan.  Â
6bblbird Posted January 4, 2018 Author Posted January 4, 2018 Major change! In order to use the Lindberg chassis, I would have to chop the bottom out of the interior tub and although it would not be that difficult, I don't wan't to do that. The Johan chassis fits perfectly but has horrible detail. Hmmm, what if I cut out the molded in exhaust, differential, and drive shaft? With some cutting (a lot), bondo, filing, and a parts box diff. I might have something.
W-409 Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 That sounds familiar! I was going to use Lindberg chassis under my '64 Polara Factory Experimental car but because of the same issue I'll probably end up with the Jo-Han chassis too. Anyway, looks like you're doing a great job on this... Keep the pictures coming!
6bblbird Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 It's amazing how accurate and beautiful Johan bodies were and how unbelievably horrible their chassis were!
6bblbird Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 The Johan chassis is still being "enhanced". I got some primer on it, Â mocked up the engine location, Â and replaced the wonky torsion bars with some .040 rod. I also found a driveshaft that almost fit.
W-409 Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 19 hours ago, 6bblbird said: It's amazing how accurate and beautiful Johan bodies were and how unbelievably horrible their chassis were! Yep, they produced some very nice bodies, but in many kits the chassis and engine bays are pretty poor quality... I have the Drag On Lady AMX on the works too and so far I've done some massive chassis modifications on that and hopefully I'll soon be at the same position than if the chassis was decent quality so that I can actually paint and assemble something instead of cutting and sanding... This looks like pretty much similar project, except that the front axle area is not that bad as it is in the AMX kit...
6bblbird Posted February 3, 2018 Author Posted February 3, 2018 Got a little done. Turned the Hemi headers into wedge headers. Looks weird with the real long pipes but it sorta works. Air cleaners need some touch up too.
6bblbird Posted February 4, 2018 Author Posted February 4, 2018 I always had difficulty picking out those molded in wiring harness'. Can never make a clean line with paint. What I did here was to carve them off and replace them with real wire. I drilled some holes behind the thicker black wire so it gives the appearance that the colored wire is coming out of the black harness! Used white wire to replicate the plastic hold downs.
Hmann68 Posted February 4, 2018 Posted February 4, 2018 Very nice job on that firewall! I have a heck of a time painting those wires too. Nice idea there!
6bblbird Posted February 4, 2018 Author Posted February 4, 2018 I think that I might "ugly up" the headers a bit with some rust. Getting close to painting the body ( I always do that part last). It's gonna be Italian Red but I'm thinking about putting white stripes on the roof. What do you think? WF
6bblbird Posted February 10, 2018 Author Posted February 10, 2018 (edited) Got the body painted and the front and rear moldings foiled. I installed the rear glass and side windows but when I installed the front glass I found that it had cracked badly in two spots after the glue dried. ??? That never happened before. Luckily, I have one windshield left. Edited February 10, 2018 by 6bblbird
High octane Posted February 10, 2018 Posted February 10, 2018 On 2/3/2018 at 11:29 AM, 6bblbird said: Got a little done. Turned the Hemi headers into wedge headers. Looks weird with the real long pipes but it sorta works. Air cleaners need some touch up too. I believe those headers are for a Wedge motor and not a Hemi, even though Johan used a Hemi engine with those headers in the Recharged kit.
6bblbird Posted February 10, 2018 Author Posted February 10, 2018 I believe that I had mentioned that earlier. They had evenly spaced exhaust ports for a Hemi, but they never fit correctly. I had to savage these to make them work.
6bblbird Posted February 10, 2018 Author Posted February 10, 2018 I can't believe it. The second windshield also cracked! Is it the two part epoxy or the fact that the plastic is almost 50 years old? I don't even think that I can remove this one. It's held in with a lot of epoxy. Makes me sick. This will probably be the end of this project.
progplastic Posted February 10, 2018 Posted February 10, 2018 Been fallowing this for a while. Looks great. Don't let the busted windshield stop ya. How does the one from Lindberg fit.? Maybe try rubber cement, that's all i use for my windows. The clear stuff you get in bicycle tube repair works great. It's clear , but it take some time to cure.
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